A Very British Murder
By Starbuck_Jayne
Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk
Rating: PG but you know I'm not very good
with ratings!
Spoilers: None really but Requiem in a TINY
and implied way and also Per Manum.
Keywords: Pre-Requiem, MSR, X
Disclaimer: So, if I claimed I owned these
characters would you really be cruel enough
to sue a 16 year old girl??? Hmmm well just
to be on the safe-side these characters
belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox.
Archive: Anywhere at all just keep my name
and e-mail attached but no flames please!
Summary: A case in London proves to be more
than Mulder and Scully bargained for.
Feedback: On my knees and begging for it.
Author's Notes: This is the first fanifc that
I've written that's more like a casefile than
a simple shippy fic so please let me know what
you think and if it's worth posting the rest.
Thanks!
A Very British Murder
Starbuck_Jayne
Mulder had read all about it in the papers
long before the meeting in Skinner's office,
and so now as the AD. droned out all the
specifics his mind was left to wander. It
had started off as a fairly routine case-the
FBI had been contacted by the British police
force, Scotland Yard, after an American
diplomat had been found murdered in a hotel
room in London. It was only after the man's
body had disappeared from the morgue and
reports had started coming in of your
typical "things-going-bump-in-the-night"
horror story cliches that Mulder and Scully
had been called in to save the day. So now,
as he leant back in his chair, Mulder's eyes
shifted from his case notes, across to
Skinner, then came to rest on his partner.
He studied her for a brief moment. She
looked different somehow today; perhaps just
that little bit more radiant. He might have
continued to stare had she not seen him
watching her and smiled questioningly. He
looked away, casting a glance towards
Skinner, only to find him concentrating
solely on the notes in front of him. If the
AD suspected that there was anything more
than a purely professional relationship
between his prized agents then he didn't let
on. The FBI bosses knew that they made a
great team, but it seemed to Mulder that
these days any excuse to split them up was a
good one. That was part of the reason why
he looked towards their upcoming audit with
an increasing sense of trepidation.
"So," Skinner looked up, "you're scheduled
to leave for London at 9:30 am tomorrow."
Mulder groaned inwardly. London. That'd
look great on the report. Just great.
X~X~X~X~X~X
It was dark when they arrived at Heathrow,
and the city lights cast an orange glow
against the slick, tarmac surface of the
runway. The pilot announced the time to be
nearly 10pm-5 hours ahead of D.C. As the
agents disembarked it became clear that
Mulder's prediction regarding British
weather had been right-the rain pounded
against the small tunnel that led from the
plane to the warmth of the airport. Once
inside the pair were greeted at the gate by
a couple who were clearly members of
Scotland Yard; despite the fact that they
bore no resemblance whatsoever to the
notorious Phoebe Green, Scully noted with a
small shudder. A man and a woman, both
dressed in black and wearing similar sombre
expressions. The female detective stepped
forward as Mulder and Scully approached,
introducing herself as Detective Inspector
Lucile Perry. A relatively warm smile made
up for the fact that her skin was an almost
ghostly white; but her partner on the other
hand seemed less pleased to meet the
American agents. Scully suspected he felt
as if they were interfering with his case,
and it was in that way alone that he
reminded her of Mulder. The young man
scraped a hand nervously through sandy blond
hair before offering the other to Mulder and
then Scully.
"Pleased to meet you," he lied fairly well,
"I'm DI Matthews."
It was Perry who drove the agents to their
hotel and then got out of the car to help
them with their bags. Matthews remained
seated. The only time he had spoken
throughout the whole journey was to question
what he called the "*true*" nature of Mulder
and Scully's relationship. Mulder flinched,
only too aware that the sole reason behind
this comment was to piss him off. And it
worked.
"Listen," Perry began as she stepped out of
the car, "I am so sorry about James." She
glanced towards her partner, "he's just come
through a divorce and it's hit him hard...I
mean, I'm not saying he'd be that much
different under any normal circumstances,
and it's not really an excuse...but you know
how it is." She smiled cautiously at her
American counterparts.
"Oh it's quite alright, Miss Perry," Scully
reassured her, "we understand."
Perry looked relieved.
"Well, here it is," she indicated the pair's
hotel with a sigh. "I'll leave you two to
get settled then pick you up at 9am tomorrow
if that's ok?"
It seemed almost pointless for the FBI
agents to book separate rooms nowadays, but
they always did anyway. As Scully said, it
would be awkward to say the least if people
were to start asking questions. But
whenever they were out on a case, one would
make an excuse to call in on the other-
ordering Chinese takeout, discussing a
certain aspect of the investigation,
comparing notes. Sometimes they would end
up talking into the early hours of the
morning, generally about nothing in
particular, and by the time sleep was even
considered there was no point in returning
to separate rooms. It wasn't as if they
slept together in a sexual way, in fact they
rarely even shared a bed. Mulder was
usually willing to sleep on the couch, and
it was only when one wasn't available that
Scully would be forced to move up. Not that
she minded of course, it just felt so
comforting to spend the night together.
During the seven years that they had spent
on the X-Files they had both lost some of
the most important people in their lives,
and somehow it just felt like as long as
they had each other left, they'd be all
right.
X~X~X~X~X~X
Perry was true to her word and arrived at
exactly 9 o'clock the following morning. A
heavy mist hung over the city, shielding
from view the tall office blocks native to
any built-up capital. London was different
though-amidst the high-rise flats and
traffic jams resided the buildings and
monuments that had grown to be amongst
Britain's most famous attractions. It was
easy to believe that there could be
supernatural forces at work here and indeed
had been for several years previously.
Perry chatted a little in the car, basically
repeating what Skinner had said and adding a
few details here and there.
"Yeah, so what I'm saying is that this
wasn't the first death that occurred there
under suspicious circumstances," she told
them, "now, I'm not a superstitious person
myself, but I gotta tell you-that place
gives me the creeps!" She shuddered.
"And you say that the neighbours hear these
noises every night?"
Perry nodded with a slight shrug of her
shoulders and a "take-it-or-leave-it"
expression that left Mulder to wonder what
the detective's true feelings about the case
were. They arrived at the apartment at just
after quarter to ten. It was in a tall,
Victorian building that overlooked the River
Thames and had a reasonable view of the
Tower of London.
"I doubt we'll find anything much," Perry
wrapped her thick coat around her as she
walked up the drive, "forensics and the last
lot of FBI Agents have been through it with
a fine tooth comb. In fact, I've got
Matthews back at the office awaiting the
results of some tests that were run on a few
fibres we found there." She smoothed her
hair back with a hand, protecting it from
the wind that billowed about them, and
opened the front door. "Right," she said
once they were all inside, "over there is
the bathroom, with the bedroom and kitchen
off to the right, and straight through here
is the living room where the body was found."
Perry had been right. A thorough search of
the apartment concluded nothing, and so
Scully's only request was that the detective
would send her copies of any lab results.
Perry headed down to her car and Scully set
off behind her, only to be pulled back by
Mulder.
"Hey, Scully...what do you say to a little
stakeout?"
"Oh Mulder! Shouldn't we at least tell
someone about it first?"
"Aww, come on Scully! It'll be fun! And I
promise that if we don't find any ghosts I
will absolutely allow you to use the phrase
'I told you so' and not be bitter."
Scully smiled. "Ok, but you're not ditching
me again to go and get pampered by some
beautiful young housewife."
X~X~X~X~X~X
It was nearly midnight and so far the pair's
stakeout had got them nowhere. They had
agreed that Mulder would watch until 2am
whilst Scully slept, and then they would
switch roles. It seemed that not even that
plan would come to much as Scully sat, wide
awake, with her back resting against
Mulder's tall legs. She watched the
moonlight flicker across the floor of the
living room where the murder had supposedly
taken place and sighed.
"Scully, you should sleep." Mulder advised,
but his partner shook her head and insisted
that she wasn't tired. "Then what's with
all the sighing?" He teased, squeezing her
arm softly.
"Nothing, I was just thinking."
"'Bout what?" Mulder loosened his grip but
kept his hand in the same place, gently
massaging her arm with his thumb in a manner
that was almost absent minded. It was his
way of letting her know that he was being
serious again and ready for a proper
conversation.
"Nothing, Mulder, I told you."
"Is this about the fertility treatment,
Scully?" He pondered briefly his use of her
surname. In years past he would have chosen
"Dana" in more tender circumstances such as
this, and yet now "Scully" seemed so much
more familiar. More caring in a way.
"Scully," he eased her around to face him.
"Scully, promise me that you're not gonna
give up. I mean, so what if it didn't
take last time? We can try again! This
will happen for you, I know it."
She smiled and reached up to embrace him.
"Thank you."
He held her close and brushed a light kiss
across her forehead.
"You're..."
Mulder was interrupted by a sudden clatter
of footsteps on the stairs. At first,
thinking it to be some form of paranormal
activity, he told Scully to remain silent
and wait. However, the sound of voices and
the turning of a key in the lock that
followed assured the agents that this was no
ghost; and they scrambled out of the lounge
and into the bedroom.
"I can't believe you left your ID here!"
"Yeah, well I did. And you know what else?
I don't care that I did because it's not a
big deal."
"It's Matthews and Perry," Scully breathed.
Her partner nodded and pressed a finger to
his lips.
"I can't believe you're being so
irresponsible! What if someone had found
it?"
"So what if someone found it? Would you
just shut the hell up for once in your
life?!"
"People could start asking questions, then
what?"
"Oh give it a rest! They didn't did they?
And we had to come here anyway to drop this
off so *what* is your problem?"
The voices ceased and there was a soft thud,
as though something hard had been dropped
onto the bare floorboards. A noise that
sounded like a chair being scraped across
the floor was all that followed before the
British detectives left the apartment.
"What just happened here?" Mulder flicked
on the light and turned to Scully, blinking
at the sudden change in brightness. She
shrugged and raised one eyebrow
suggestively.
"Let's go see..."
X~X~X~X~X~X
To be continued...
X~X~X~X~X~X